6. CONCLUSIONS The success of Pillones goes beyond ESG discourse and stands as a tangible operational model of strategic infrastructure. Recognized with the Climate Positive Award 2022 by Green Cross UK, it demonstrates strong potential for replication in other arid and mining regions worldwide. In just over two decades, copper production in Arequipa increased from 87 thousand metric tons of fine copper (MTF) in 2002 to more than 470 thousand MTF in 2023—an increase of more than fivefold (8.4% average annual growth). In parallel, real regional GDP grew by 47% between 2007 and 2023, reaching 5.4% of national GDP, while mining electricity demand increased tenfold. The labor impact was equally significant: the economically active population rose from 570,000 people in 2005 to 789,000 in 2024 (+38%), and effective employment expanded by approximately 215,000 jobs (+41%). What is extraordinary is that this productive, economic, and employment growth did not result in hydrological collapse. On the contrary, the regulation initiated by Pillones increased dry-season water availability by 30%, strengthening regional water security. Moreover, the model evolved from a storage-based logic toward a dynamic of territorial regeneration: environmental restoration of the Chili River, large-scale wastewater treatment, 11
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